I really liked this episode. But it was basically a standalone story where the arc elements didn't actually move things forward very much.

Don't get me wrong, though, because there was quite a bit to like in this one. We did get a new vigilante added to the mix, one with an interesting history and actual character drama. The reveal that he was basically Starling City's first costumed hero is pretty awesome, and it also means that Laurel isn't just training with a boxing coach, she's training with a bonafide superhero. That puts her progress towards becoming the Canary that much closer to happening.

Next we got some rather interesting drama with Roy. Once again he didn't hide the truth, he didn't get too irrational about it, and he listened to his peers. He even got a real superhero name finally, Arsenal. Of course he didn't kill Sara in some Mirakuru rage flashback. It doesn't fit with the mystery. This isn't a quick fix type of problem. This is something that has layers, and I think Oliver is starting to get that.

Whoever did kill Sara is someone powerful enough to throw arrows by hand too, that much was confirmed by Felicity, which narrows the list somewhat. The most obvious answer of course is Slade. Which if that's true, he is being far more circumspect than he was when he first arrived in Starling. The other possibility is it is some other supernatural villain we haven't met yet. Either way, that's a pretty big clue.

Speaking of Felicity, I really liked how she handled the Roy situation. She was clearly worried, and did all the research available before she let Roy (not that there was much she could've done to stop Roy from confessing) tell the rest of the group. On the other side of Team Arrow, Diggle didn't get much to do besides serve as back up, and I'll restate my biggest issue... where is Diggle's costume!

As for the A-Plot involving gangland mass slaughters, that was both an effective storytelling hook and a nice way to wrap up all the various plot lines. Ted's former apprentice being the murderer brought up a whole bunch of interesting ideas -- primarily, if it is a good idea to work with someone in this kind of life. In Ted's case, he gave up on his sidekick who ended up captured and tortured for information.

Would Roy break down like that if he was put in a similar situation? I don't know, but I don't think so. His mind snapped because of the Mirakuru and he managed to come back from it. Still, don't think it's not a question a single episode can answer, but it was nice that Oliver's answer was a good one. He chose to not give up on Roy, even with the possibility that he killed Sara. I hope he can keep up his promise to never give up on Roy.

Flashback:

Most times the flashback serves as a parallel plot to the main story, or it at least shares some similar themes, but that was accomplished by having two sidekick stories in the present story this time. So instead, this flashback actually progressed Oliver's back-story a bit, fleshed out the Tatsu character a little, and provided an answer to Roy's inner conflict: Meditation.

Comic Book Bits:

Ted "Wildcat" Grant is yet another transplant from DC Comics. In fact, he has a history with Black Canary, specifically that he was one of the people that trained her. He was also a long standing member of the Justice Society of America, the lesser known predecessor to the Justice League. Since he was in the older generation of heroes in DC canon, he served as a mentor to several of the younger heroes, including Batman. So him pre-dating the Arrow by five years is a nice nod to that.

Bits:

No Thea in this episode. No mention of Malcolm, either.

Does Laurel still think Roy killed Sara? I really liked the way Laurel took the news, it's kind of the null answer to that kind of mystery. This was an ally who was out of his mind when he supposedly did this horrible thing. Is there vengeance or even justice that can be claimed in that situation?

Good writing on the whole dream about Sara masking a repressed memory of Roy's guilt about killing that cop last season. It wasn't a huge plot thread left dangling, but nice continuity there.

Did anyone else feel a bit sorry for Issac Stanzler? He made a horrible mistake, and was abandoned. I cannot condone his actions, but at the same time they were understandable given his circumstances.

How hypocritical was it for Oliver to go on and on about Ted being a bad influence because he killed one guy? Sheesh.

The tease for next episode was a new archer character named Cupid played by none other than Mary Winchester... I mean Amy Gumenick. If you look closely, she can be seen throughout the episode in the background scenes.

Trick Arrow of the Week: The Boxing Glove arrow. This is about as absurd as it is funny, and very much a comic book classic.

Quotes:

Grant: "This is where I kept my supplies. A safe place separate from my day job. I'm sure you've got one just like it."
Oliver: "Mine's bigger."

It really bothered me the way some of the characters reacted to Roy's confession. I understand being shocked at first but I think Diggle especially was way too hard on him. If he had killed Sara, he would've done so under the effects of a drug he was forcibly injected with. I don't know how anyone can blame him for that?

Mark, I totally forgot about the boxing glove arrow. I added that as a new bit.

Sunbunny, also a really good point. It was like Oliver's reaction to Ted, it didn't quite fit the character. Maybe the writer of this episode was new or something. Or the director forced things to be more adversarial than needed. Or both.

This was the first episode that I noticed a little flap on the side of Arrow's hood - a nod to the original Robin Hood costume of the comic Green Arrow. I wonder if they will eventually put a red feather in that flap.

The explanation that Roy only dreamed of killing Sara because of the common features with a murder that he actually committed doesn't really make sense. In his dream he saw Sara say "What are you doing here?" which we know she actually said right before dying, but Roy would have no way of knowing that if he wasn't there or otherwise connected in some deeper way. My new theory is that Roy is telepathically connected to the real killer, maybe another Mirakuru victim, a la Angel: http://www.douxreviews.com/2002/06/angel-somnambulist.html.

I was disappointed in Diggle for telling Oliver to cut Roy loose. What good would that do? If Roy didn't intentionally kill her and they cut him loose, he's likely to continue killing. If they keep him on the team they can keep an eye on him while they try to figure out what's going on.

Yay Mary Winchester... I mean Amy Gumenick! I actually did notice her in the background scenes. I didn't know who she was, but she stood out from the other extras.

I loved the boxing glove arrow, just like in The Justice League cartoon. =)